This invention pertains to the arts of repairing cracks in laminated glass items, such as motor vehicle windshields. This invention in particular to relates tools which use resin and/or epoxy applied during one or more vacuum and pressure cycles to evacuate a crack and then fill the crack with the resin or the epoxy.
Not applicable.
This invention was not developed in conjunction with any Federally-sponsored contract.
Not applicable.
Modem automobile and vehicle windshields are made of two plies of glass with a thin sheet of plastic disposed between the two layers of glass. This is called safety glass in the industry. When the glass is struck by a missile, such as a rock or flying piece of debris, at high speed from the exterior of the car, the outer layer of glass typically cracks or pits. However, often the inner layer does not. This results in what is called a spider crack or a xe2x80x9cbull""s eyexe2x80x9d chip.
As replacement of the windshield can be very expensive and prohibitive in many situations, especially in situations where the crack or the bulls eye is not in the direct view of the driver of the vehicle, it is desirable to repair the crack such that it most importantly will not spread any further. Additionally, it is desirable to repair the crack so that it may be less visible or even invisible to the driver.
In order to repair such a spider or xe2x80x9cbull""s eyexe2x80x9d crack, one current method is known in the art in which the crack is evacuated. Then, resin or epoxy is placed in the crack under pressure. The cycle may be repeated once or twice in order to completely void the crack of air, and to completely fill it with resin or epoxy. If the resin or epoxy has a light refraction coefficient similar to glass, the filled crack will be nearly invisible to the human eye.
Several tools to implement this repair method are available within the art today. The first of the tools is a general group of tools used by professional or industrial users in which an electric pump is used to pull a high level of vacuum on the crack. Then, resin is introduced into the crack, and the pump""s action is reversed to place pressure on the resin, pushing it into the void formed by the crack. This cycle is usually repeated several times, pulling out air bubbles and pushing in more resin. These tools are generally expensive, and require a considerable maintenance time. Additionally, they waste some portion of the expensive resin or epoxy which is used to fill the crack, as the unused resin or epoxy from a particular repair job cannot be recovered or stored for the next job. Further, the clean up time is especially significant in that the tip or the applicator end of the tool must be cleaned thoroughly after each application in order to remove any excess resin. The pumps themselves are fairly complicated and have a high failure rate and also are very expensive to own.
The windshield repair industry is very competitive. Most of these services are offered on the customer""s site. A service truck typically travels to a parking lot where the automobile with the crack windshield is parked, and the crack repair is performed on-site where the car is parked. This means for the fee charged for the repair must include travel time, fuel, set-up time, the actual time to make the repair, and clean-up time. Therefore, any technology that can reduce any of those phases of the repair and also reduce the wasted materials will result in higher profitability and/or lower service charges.
Another tool commonly used to effect a similar type crack repair is a consumer device available at most car repair and car shops. The device consists of an adhesive tip which is applied over the crack on the windshield, and then is mated with a syringe device. The syringe plunger is then pulled back in order to place the crack under a small vacuum, then resin or epoxy is introduced into the hollow interior of the syringe. Finally, the syringe plunger is pressed into the syringe placing the resin under pressure and forcing the resin into the crack. This cycle may be repeated several times.
While this device is not able to pull as strong a vacuum or place the resin under as great of a pressure as the professional device, it is much less expensive than the price of a service charge for professional service. However, it cannot repair larger cracks and cannot make the cracks as invisible as the professional tool can.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a professional grade tool which does not waste unused resin or epoxy, which has quicker set-up and clean-up times than the current technology, and which is more reliable than currently available pump-based tools. Further, there is a need in the art for this professional grade tool to be easy to use.
The present invention employs an injector base which provides a platform for the components of the integrated injector tool. Connected to the injector base is a suction cup which is used to attach the injector tool to the cracked windshield. Mounted on the injector base are two stabilizers which allow the base to be stabilized for movement against or relative to the windshield. Also attached to the injector base is an injector shell which includes internal to it, a bore with an injector rod, through which pressure and vacuum cycles are created, and through which resin is applied to the crack. At the bottom of the injector shell is a rubber-like injector tip which is place around the crack to be filled. At the top of the injector shell is a handle which is threaded onto the injector shell. By turning the handle clockwise, the area just above the crack is placed under pressure, and by turning the handle counter-clockwise, the area above the crack is placed under negative pressure or in a vacuum. Resin is introduced into the core or the bore of the injector shell and an integral notch on the injector rod allows for a two-way valve to be formed for both the pressure and vacuum cycles. Unused resin or epoxy can be stored in the reservoir for use during the next repair.